USA - America’s Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers on 24-hour standby for the first time in a quarter of a century amid escalating tensions with North Korea. The move would see B-52 planes carrying nuclear weapons sitting on the runway at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and ready to fly when given the order. It would be the first time the status was put in place since 1991, when the Cold War was nearing an end.